The parks office was packed full of young men and women all eager to sign up the upcoming "Battle of the bands." Boomer walked in and his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe the turn out for this thing, but with the amount that was being offered for the grand prize it made sense. Five grand was the largest amount that had ever been offered for this particular event; most of the money had been donated by local businesses that wanted to draw a little attention to their tiny town.
It seemed to work; people were coming from all over the place hoping to get a shot at playing. A good number of bands would be going home disappointed since only the top ten bands would be selected to play. This left Boomer a little worried. With so many bands competing, he had to figure out a way to make sure that Desire was going to be among those who were chosen. He had a lot of faith in his boys, but there were bigger and more experienced bands applying. There had to be something he could do to make sure his boys stood out, he just wasn't sure what that was yet.
He read over the application carefully. This would take a bit of work. Not only did he have to write a promotional statement about the band, but the application had to be turned in with a demo CD, and he only had a week before sign-ups would be closed. As he read over the rules and regulations though, an idea started to form in his mind. It was a good idea, probably one of the best he'd had in a while. He just hoped the boys (and now girl) would go for it.
Boomer folded the application and put it in his pocket as he walked back out to his car. Once seated behind the steering wheel, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Hey Cole, it's Dad. Are you busy? I really need your help with something."
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Mikey was just leaving the parks office when he noticed a familiar face sitting in an old, rusted, ford pick-up truck. He recognized that truck at once; it was Kenny "Boomer" Rhoad's truck, the owner of Shaggys Tavern.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Mikey wondered. He walked over to the truck and stood by the driver's side. Boomer was talking to someone on his cell but he looked up and nodded to Mikey, acknowledging his presence. Mikey waited. Boomer finally ended the call then rolled down his window.
"Hey Mike." He said, frowning a bit as he spoke to him.
"Hey Boom." Mikey said back.
"How's it going?" Boomer asked. He didn't really want to make small talk with Mikey; he never did like the guy, and he liked him even less after what he did to Avery. Boomer had known Mikey longer but he had a soft spot in his heart for Avery. The first time Boomer had met Avery was a real shock for him. He reminded him so much of his youngest son Devin. Devin was sixteen when he came out to his family and Boomer hadn't taken the news particularly well. He loved his son, but he didn't like or accept his choices and he let him know it.
Boomer always regretted the way he'd reacted and how he'd pushed Devin away. It was a hard time for him. His family wouldn't accept that he was gay, his friends had all but abandoned him, and he was so lost and confused. It was a time when he really needed his parents support but never got it. Boomer was the one that found him.
He'd come home for lunch and noticed that Devin's car was in the drive. Wondering why he hadn't gone to school, Boomer walked into his room and saw him lying on the bed. At first he thought he was asleep. He looked so peaceful, so content. Boomer was annoyed though; Devin's grades had been slipping so he really couldn't afford to be playing hooky.
"Dev!" Boomer kicked the side of the bed but the boy didn't move or show any signs of waking up. "Devin!" He called again. He walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him. His skin was ice cold and his body heavy and limp. His head lolled to the side and fell off the pillow; his mouth gaped open as his jaw went slack. Boomer took a step back, gasping. That's when he noticed the empty pill bottle on the bed.
Devin had taken his mother's prescription Percocet's and over dosed on them while his parents were at work. Boomer remembered that day like it was yesterday, he felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. He fell to his knees and cried as he held his sons hand, begging him to open his eyes and wake up, knowing full well that he wouldn't. Devin was gone long before Boomer had found him. When the paramedics arrived, all they could do was pronounced him dead. There was no way to bring him back at that point.
That was ten years ago, but the memory of that day haunted Boomer every day of his life. When he had heard Avery's story, and learned that his parents had never accepted Avery as being gay, Boomer remembered his own son and how his choices as a father led to his son's suicide. He didn't want the same thing to happen to another young man so he decided to take Avery under his wing and be a father figure to the boy. He thought that Devin would have liked that, and maybe in some way, he'd find redemption for his own insensitivity. Maybe, one day, Devin could forgive him.
Mikey shrugged. "It's going great." He said. "Just signed my new band up for the battle of the bands; we're totally going to rock the place and win that cash."
"A new band huh?" Boomer raised an eye brow. "That was pretty quick."
"Not really, I've known the guys for a while now. They've been begging me to leave those losers I used to play with and join a real band. I finally decided that it was better for me; I mean, Desire ain't going anywhere anyway. They were only holding me back. I'm the only real talent that band ever had. Without me they ain't got a snow ball's chance in hell." Mikey grinned and laughed a deep belly laugh, obviously sure of himself as he boasted.
Boomer raised an eye brow. "I don't know about all that." He said. "They have a new guitarist and she's pretty damn good, and with Avery's voice I think they have a pretty good shot. In fact, I'm here getting an application for them. I have every confidence that they'll be selected as one of the ten bands to play so get ready for some competition."
Mikey frowned. "They ain't no competition for me. If they're really planning to sign up then they better get ready to be disappointed. No way is that half rate band of amateur musicians going to beat 'Screaming metal' we're ten times better and we ain't pulling any punches. If Desire goes up against us, they're going to fail miserably!"
"We'll, see who the better band is," Boomer started the truck and revved up the engine. He gave Mikey a quick, stern, glare. "Don't underestimate my boys. They have talent, but they also have heart and that's what really counts." He pulled out of the parking lot, spinning his wheels in the dirt and sending up a cloud of dust.
